And the rest of the world?

[Luna Guardian]

Hey all again.

So the story's over and all things are fine and dandy for the past 14 years in the US of A. What about the rest of the world? We had one mention that there were outreaks in other parts of the world as well, but judging by the last chapter, the main gas pockets and outbreak were in the US. What happened to the rest of us? Were there Inks all over the globe? Did the outbreaks stop before they reached catastrophic proportions? How about remote, cold ass countries like Finland and Switzerland, where there are a bunch of guns and trained people who can actually live once the internet goes down with natural defences like mountains, islands and vast distances? Is the world overrun by zombies and will they show up in the US at some point? I understand that the main audience is American, but just a little something about the rest of the world would be nice to us international fans.

Cheers!

[GamerGirl]

I think the rest of the world is in the same situation as the US is. Survives hanging out & getting used to the post z world. I fact you may be better off than us because you saw it comming (even if only by alittle) & learned for our mistakes.

The only place that had it this bad was LA, because only LA had Ink.

[Gooer]

Hey all again.

So the story's over and all things are fine and dandy for the past 14 years in the US of A. What about the rest of the world? We had one mention that there were outreaks in other parts of the world as well, but judging by the last chapter, the main gas pockets and outbreak were in the US. What happened to the rest of us? Were there Inks all over the globe? Did the outbreaks stop before they reached catastrophic proportions? How about remote, cold ass countries like Finland and Switzerland, where there are a bunch of guns and trained people who can actually live once the internet goes down with natural defences like mountains, islands and vast distances? Is the world overrun by zombies and will they show up in the US at some point? I understand that the main audience is American, but just a little something about the rest of the world would be nice to us international fans.

Cheers!

I would assume that since Ink was only in LA, the rest of the world (including the rest of the USA) Had an easier time, due to none of the specials that Ink had created; no Little ones, no Behemoths, no jumpers/runners, etc (if Ink made those too, not sure...). It may be possible that they started large colonies a lot sooner than our survivors did.

[Th3_T3ch]

We know what happened somewhat. It is covered in season 3 with "Beyond Our Walls". But after Ft. Irwin and Boulder became the last large safe havens in the US we know nothing. There were outbreaks in other countries (I don't remember which ones though) and given that Irwin lost contact with other countries we can infer that the world has gone to shit. (knowing full well that Kc wouldn't just excuse the fact that there were US naval ships stationed all across the world)

[airrunner]

due to none of the specials that Ink had created; no Little ones, no Behemoths, no jumpers/runners, etc (if Ink made those too, not sure...)

Actually during the Q/A session after the live stream of the finale, I believe KC said that his "zombies" do follow the Burt rule that whatever attributes you had in life, you possess a zombie version of them as an infected. Thus the runners were people who were noticeably fast as humans (i.e., elite athletes), ditto with the jumpers. Those types of zombies could be anywhere in the world. We stopped seeing them in LA after the first season. Once they died off, there were no others to replace them since you need the athletic feedstock to generate new ones. On a side note, I guess we can be glad this outbreak didn't take place during the Olympics or you would have had a mass of runners, jumpers and other types of physically uber-zombies.

Ink is a special zombie because of his elite intelligence as a human. The fact that he had an irrational fear of dying and stumbled on the petroglyphs allowed him to control other zombies. The fact that he was paranoid solidified his overriding motivation as a zombie to defeat the survivor groups around him. And the fact that he was a highly skilled, highly trained chemist gave him the tools to develop the Behemoths and the Little Ones.

There probably are no Little Ones/Behemoths to worry about elsewhere in the world, but that doesn't mean there are no more smart ones out there. And maybe some smart ones were super-skilled at medicine and have developed zombies that are resistant to being killed or maybe there are smart ones more mechanically inclined who have developed robotically enhanced zombies. Who knows?

[Luna Guardian]

We know what happened somewhat. It is covered in season 3 with "Beyond Our Walls". But after Ft. Irwin and Boulder became the last large safe havens in the US we know nothing. There were outbreaks in other countries (I don't remember which ones though) and given that Irwin lost contact with other countries we can infer that the world has gone to shit. (knowing full well that Kc wouldn't just excuse the fact that there were US naval ships stationed all across the world)
Well, we can also surmise that Russia at least is more or less intact, due to the lack of a Dead Hand or Perimeter response. Also, if all the US ships at sea were lost with all hands, doesn't that seem a little odd? Yes, it is entirely possible that one or two carrier groups would have some ships infested, but all of them with all the ships? I think this is simply a sacrifice that had to be made in detail due to scope restrictions and the fact that it did not matter to the story as it was told.


Ink is a special zombie because of his elite intelligence as a human. The fact that he had an irrational fear of dying and stumbled on the petroglyphs allowed him to control other zombies. The fact that he was paranoid solidified his overriding motivation as a zombie to defeat the survivor groups around him. And the fact that he was a highly skilled, highly trained chemist gave him the tools to develop the Behemoths and the Little Ones.

There probably are no Little Ones/Behemoths to worry about elsewhere in the world, but that doesn't mean there are no more smart ones out there. And maybe some smart ones were super-skilled at medicine and have developed zombies that are resistant to being killed or maybe there are smart ones more mechanically inclined who have developed robotically enhanced zombies. Who knows?
It is more than likely, almost certain in fact, that there are smart zombies all over the world IF the outbreaks were large scale enough. Without anything to back my claim, I would say that you need to be of Mensa level IQ in order to become a smart one, and Ink had a rather unique set of characteristics that made him the threat he was and allowed him to organize and control the zedheads. The chances of there being others like him are very slim, so given how the zombie gas was in the States and the other parts of the world only being infected by individual turners, it is conveivable, in my humble opinion, that at least remote areas with natural defences (such as distance, mountains, large rivers, open sea...) are still in good condition, though fully aware of the new dangerous world they may live in.

That being said, the UK is screwed. Police not having firearms, civilians largely unarmed and a huge population density probably made it a zombie buffet. At least England.

[LiamKerrington]

In the Q&A Kc explained that the cause of the outbreak started before the events of We're Alive, because the gases infected people who were able to leave the LA or Northern-Mexican area, which is why there were zombs in Hawaii or in other parts of the world.
Considering that especially business men and women as well as scientists, who might have been infected, might have travelled everywhere in the world - same with for example tourists, pop-stars, aircraft-crews and whatnot - this means zombs could have spawned almost everywhere in the world. Especially with the real outbreak and the panic everywhere, things could have come out of control. Now look at Africa and the current Ebolah-situation, hiw things have started to spin out of control and multiply this with the zombie-story ... Bammm!

But regardless of that I guess there would be a couple of "safe" places - especially those almost deserted areas with only little population. Chances are that the people there might have learned about the pandemy all over the world, and they might have started to prepare themselves. So I think there will be enough locations with survivors who really had no big deal with the zombs at all. Places like Iceland I think could be sort of safe; and if not, they don't have tanks and shit, they otherwise Iceland would be downed to 100% ... I digress.

Good question! Europe will have strongholds of survivors, but Europe will be hit as hard as the US was hit. Same with the Asian nations around the pacific. But New Zealand would be safe: zombs don't like Hobbits, Elves, or Orcs ...

Best wishes!
Liam

[airrunner]

That being said, the UK is screwed. Police not having firearms, civilians largely unarmed and a huge population density probably made it a zombie buffet. At least England.

England's got the Royal Guard right? They're all armed with weapons. Perhaps there is a group of survivors lead by members of that esteemed group. They are trained to be super serious and focused (and humorless), especially the ones guarding the Palace.

[Luna Guardian]

England's got the Royal Guard right? They're all armed with weapons. Perhaps there is a group of survivors lead by members of that esteemed group. They are trained to be super serious and focused (and humorless), especially the ones guarding the Palace.

Sure there is a military, the UK has a well-equipped and trained fighting force. That being said, it takes a while to mobilize and we've seen how difficult it is to stop vast hordes of zombies. The relative size of the military is still small compared to the population of London (205,850 active and 181,720 reserve versus 8,416,535 people in London, 5,354 people/km2) and much less concentrated. It would all depend on how bad the infestation would get and how quickly, but the numbers don't paint a pretty picture.

[MrRedBeard]

Hey all again.

So the story's over and all things are fine and dandy for the past 14 years in the US of A. What about the rest of the world? We had one mention that there were outreaks in other parts of the world as well, but judging by the last chapter, the main gas pockets and outbreak were in the US. What happened to the rest of us? Were there Inks all over the globe? Did the outbreaks stop before they reached catastrophic proportions? How about remote, cold ass countries like Finland and Switzerland, where there are a bunch of guns and trained people who can actually live once the internet goes down with natural defences like mountains, islands and vast distances? Is the world overrun by zombies and will they show up in the US at some point? I understand that the main audience is American, but just a little something about the rest of the world would be nice to us international fans.

Cheers!

I'll ask KC tonight during our Q&A with him. If you guys have other questions post them. I'll be refreshing this thread for replies.

[Luna Guardian]

I'll ask KC tonight during our Q&A with him. If you guys have other questions post them. I'll be refreshing this thread for replies.

Awesome mate, thanks and cheers!

[airrunner]

I'll ask KC tonight during our Q&A with him. If you guys have other questions post them. I'll be refreshing this thread for replies.

Hey this is different from the post-live streaming Q&A right? This is your next official podcast episode, Red Beard? I'm glad you guys are still going to keep recording episodes even after the show is done. Can't wait to listen to it and to find out what your and Mick's ratings were. Well, I guess I already know yours since they've been the same for each episode. But Mick better start handing out those 5.0 ratings again. He's been quite stingy with them.

[Luna Guardian]

So? What were the answers?

[jackd87]

I think using any form of logic, we can derive that whilst Ink made LA and the surrounding area pretty awful, there would have been similar archetypal characters across the globe. It seems almost of though Ink was more like an obsessive rather than a genius that saw it coming. There are plenty of these around (all the end is nigh types) along with all of the actual geniuses or people with slight genetic defects that would make them almost immune from the virus (28 days later). I would almost bet that each continent would have its own special types either from environment influence or from the regions own 'Ink'. Lets face it, as soon as anything happens, people love to experiment with it. And we all secretly have the maniacal laugh hidden away.

[Witch_Doctor]

I think using any form of logic, we can derive that whilst Ink made LA and the surrounding area pretty awful, there would have been similar archetypal characters across the globe. It seems almost of though Ink was more like an obsessive rather than a genius that saw it coming. There are plenty of these around (all the end is nigh types) along with all of the actual geniuses or people with slight genetic defects that would make them almost immune from the virus (28 days later). I would almost bet that each continent would have its own special types either from environment influence or from the regions own 'Ink'. Lets face it, as soon as anything happens, people love to experiment with it. And we all secretly have the maniacal laugh hidden away.

Not so sure about that. Look at all of the things that took place for Ink to take advantage of the situation.

The smarter you are in life..... Ink was one smart cookie. Extremely smart. A LOT of that held over into his transformation. Million to one odds.
He just happened to have the one symbol tattooed on him that that would protect him. Seven billion to one odds.
Smart guy? CHECK. Protection symbol? CHECK. Determining that one of your protection symbols actually worked? What are the odds?
Smart, able to manipulate other zombies AND create Super-zombie zombies.....


To sum up the odds against this happening elsewhere I'll offer a lame joke told to me by a Math professor: When a statistician passes the airport security check, they discover a bomb in his bag. He explains. "Statistics shows that the probability of a bomb being on an airplane is 1/1000000. However, the chance that there are two bombs at one plane is 1/1000000000000. So, I am much safer..."
:D

[jackd87]

Not so sure about that. Look at all of the things that took place for Ink to take advantage of the situation.

The smarter you are in life..... Ink was one smart cookie. Extremely smart. A LOT of that held over into his transformation. Million to one odds.
He just happened to have the one symbol tattooed on him that that would protect him. Seven billion to one odds.
Smart guy? CHECK. Protection symbol? CHECK. Determining that one of your protection symbols actually worked? What are the odds?
Smart, able to manipulate other zombies AND create Super-zombie zombies.....


To sum up the odds against this happening elsewhere I'll offer a lame joke told to me by a Math professor: When a statistician passes the airport security check, they discover a bomb in his bag. He explains. "Statistics shows that the probability of a bomb being on an airplane is 1/1000000. However, the chance that there are two bombs at one plane is 1/1000000000000. So, I am much safer..."
:D


First off....great joke and pretty sensible if you ask me.


Yes Ink was amazingly smart, not smart enough not to be caught by the cops it seems but smart non the less. There are/must be many much smarter than Ink, yes odds of these surviving due to well lets face it most genius generally are not fit enough to survive the apocalypse, to go along with the "the smarter you are in life" phrase that must be mean that there are some extremely smart zombies running around or rolling around in the case of Prof. Hawkins. Potentially smart enough to not need the symbol tattooed on them but smart enough to cause plenty of issues for any local survivors. From what is seems that zombies are able to learn and adapt, rather than just being mindless animals or else they would not be able to take orders from Ink in the first place. Therefore genius zombies would again be able to learn perhaps beyond the point of needing the symbols at all. Its a working theory I know but one that I feel has some evidence within the WA world. (zombie hiding behind the counter when they try to tag them or the radon labs guy trying to jump Saul, Angel and Burt) I agree that the odds are pretty prolific, but then again we have to remember that according the theory of infinity, all things are infinitely possible. If one version of Ink exists then it is infinitely possible that some other form exists. To quote the great John Hammond (Jurassic Park) "Life will find a way"

[airrunner]

During the finale Q/A, I think KC said his preference is to write about places he knows about firsthand, so any WA stories happening in the UK would need to hold off until he gets a chance to visit there. How about a place he does know about, like Iraq? Even though the U.S.'s formal involvement there is over, there must still be military personnel stationed there. Having a zombie story take place outside of the typical first world settings would be novel, especially in a place that already is unstable to begin with. I totally could see a way to tie it in to the main story as perhaps the side story could be told from the perspective of a friend of Michael's stlll in Iraq at the time of the infection being released. Of course, now would not be the best time considering the real world horrors going on over there in the Kurdish region.

[Burgerbros]

I am seeing lots of spin offs here. :nik:

[Kc]

First off....great joke and pretty sensible if you ask me.


Yes Ink was amazingly smart, not smart enough not to be caught by the cops it seems but smart non the less. There are/must be many much smarter than Ink, yes odds of these surviving due to well lets face it most genius generally are not fit enough to survive the apocalypse, to go along with the "the smarter you are in life" phrase that must be mean that there are some extremely smart zombies running around or rolling around in the case of Prof. Hawkins. Potentially smart enough to not need the symbol tattooed on them but smart enough to cause plenty of issues for any local survivors. From what is seems that zombies are able to learn and adapt, rather than just being mindless animals or else they would not be able to take orders from Ink in the first place. Therefore genius zombies would again be able to learn perhaps beyond the point of needing the symbols at all. Its a working theory I know but one that I feel has some evidence within the WA world. (zombie hiding behind the counter when they try to tag them or the radon labs guy trying to jump Saul, Angel and Burt) I agree that the odds are pretty prolific, but then again we have to remember that according the theory of infinity, all things are infinitely possible. If one version of Ink exists then it is infinitely possible that some other form exists. To quote the great John Hammond (Jurassic Park) "Life will find a way"

Can someone(Or thing) learn beyond the symbols? They can. In fact, Randy sort of did. If he was the one marking them- he would have to have some semblance of control over it.

[jackd87]

I should have remembered Randy! Thanks KC, But then I ask, why did Randy have the control over it? He was not shown to be extremely smart before or have any indication towards knowledge of these things. I would assume that Ink gave him the ability to think for himself and then taught him the importance of the symbols?

[Gooer]

I should have remembered Randy! Thanks KC, But then I ask, why did Randy have the control over it? He was not shown to be extremely smart before or have any indication towards knowledge of these things. I would assume that Ink gave him the ability to think for himself and then taught him the importance of the symbols?

Michael refers to him being a very smart person previous to being infected.

[Merlin1274]

Well I still think Ink was an Anomaly in this Zombie story.. I do not think there would be another like him anywhere else. I have been known to be wrong a time or two.

[raymoney]

Michael refers to him being a very smart person previous to being infected.

CJ also mentioned sending him to figure out the water problem. I doubt she would sent someone without enough smarts to figure out something that complex.

[Savvi]

To quote the great John Hammond (Jurassic Park) "Life will find a way"

Ian Malcolm. He said it. "No. I'm, I'm simply saying that life, uh... finds a way."

If there were a outbreak in the UK, you can count on that all is lost here. A single bite or scratch wound would change you into one those things pretty quickly. Heavy populated streets like London will fall the fastest.

I guess, the survivors would be the army and gangs (those with guns).
I'd be dead and sniffing for sweat no doubt.